Detonating toy



% 51mm f B. M. ROOF I DETONATING TOY Filed Marbh a, 1922 Nov. 18, 1924.

Patented Nov. 18, 1924.

ljl llllild BENJAMIN M. ROOF, F LIMA, OHIO.

DETONATING TOY.

Application filed March 8, 1922 Serial No. 542,001.

' To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN M. Roor, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lima, in the county of Allen and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Detonating Toys, and do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to a detonating toy, designed more particularly for detonating caps of the paper type, usually formed in strips and adapted to have the individual caps torn ofii' or separated singly or in number. It has for its object to provide a device of the character indicated which will comprise parallel members hinged together and provided adjacent to one end with gripping surfaces preferably formed of metal plates, or other good wearing material, be tween which the cap will be gripped, and formed with extended portions constituting a handle for holding and manipulating the device in striking the device to cause an explosion of the cap by concussion.

In the drawing Figure 1 is a side elevation of the device in full lines, the dotted lines indicating the position of one member separated from the other for insertion of a p;

Figure 2 is a cross section on the line 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a cross section through the member having the elastic cushion.

In the drawing the numeral 1 designates two parallel members formed of suitable material, preferably wood, and hinged together at one end by a hinge 2, which preferably is formed of leather or other suitable flexible material, so as to obtain a wider range of movement of one member relatively to the other in different directions than is obtainable by a metal and pintle form of hinge and by which a more entirely satisfactory action of the two members is obtained. The opposing faces of the two members adjacent to one end are provided with gripping faces 3 preferably formed of metal plates set into the members and preferably having their contact faces level with thefaces of the members towhich attached so that when a flat or substantially flat detonating cap is placed between the two faces it will be gripped by the faces and held in position to be exploded by concussion when the device is struck against a surface or body in wielding the device so as to impart a smart blow against such object. The handle portion l of the device is a prolongation of the two members beyond the gripping faces, and preferably is of smaller diameter in cross section than the other portions of the members, made so, say by beveled or cut-away edges 5 so as to afford an easy grip for the hand in manipulating the device,

said handles also affording greater leverage for wielding the device to give a-concussion blow. Adjacent to the gripping faces 3 there is placed an elastic cushion which will tend to prevent an accidental or premature explosion of the detonating cap and will also insure or permit a slight rebound of one member relatively to the other when a sharp impact is made by striking against an object and thus give a louder report or detonation from the explosion of the cap. This cushioning element may be of any form or character found suitable for the purpose, and in one form may consist of an elastic band 6 placed around one of the members 1 as illustrated in Figure 1 of the drawing and when so applied the portion lying between the two members will tend to relieve to some extent the pressure on the paper cap between the gripping plates of the two members so that a very light blow will not cause explosion of the cap but a sharper or stronger blow will compress the cushion sufficiently to cause a concussion that will explode the cap. In the rebound following the impact the expansion of the resilient cushion will tend to quickly release the pressure contact between the gripping faces so that the detonating report is intensified. The device is operative without the use of the cushioning means but better results are obtained by its use. This cushion may be applied at the time the device is made and sold for use, or can be applied or replaced by the user. To insure it being applied by the user at the most efficient point the members may be marked in any suitable way, for instance as indicated by the transverse dotted lines in Figure 2, so that an elastic band may be applied at the point indicated.

In operation, a paper cap is placed be tween the gripping faces 3, and the two members brought together and held by the hand grasping the handle portions 4L; then by wielding or swinging the device and striking it against an object the concussion of the blow will cause the cap to explode and produce a sharp and loud detonating reportor sonnd. The device is of few parts, simple in formation, and efficient for the purpose designed, and provides a toy detor forming asource of amusement or en te tainment especially to the young and free rom an e Having described my invention and set forthitsinerits what I claim is:

1.; The detonating toy compr'sing parallel members hinged together at one end and provided with'detonating cap gripping surfacesbetweenthe members adjacent to the hinged ends and at points between the hinged ends and free ends of the members saidmembers being extended to constitute a handle formanipulating the device.

2. T he detonating toy comprising parallel membershaving a hinge of flexible material connecting one member to the other at one end and the members extended. to constitute a handle for manipulating the device, the membersadapted when folded into parallelism to lie in close relation one to the other to grip a detonating cap between them adjacent to the hinged connection.

3. A detonating toy comprising parallel members hinged together at one end and provided with hardened cap-gripping portionsattached to the members opposite to each other at points adjacent to the hinged ends between such ends and the free ends of the members, the members constituting a handle for manipulating the device.

4-. The detonatin toy comprising parallel members hnged together at one end and provided with detonating cap-gripping portions between the members, and a cushioning member associated with the parallel members to prevent accidental explosion of the detonate.

5. The detonating toy compris'ng parallel members hinged together at one end and provided with detonating-cap gripping portions adjacent one end between the members, and a cushioning member located adjacent to the cap gripping portions to restrain the gripping compression of the members on the detonating-cap.

In testimony whereof I afliX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

BENJAMIN M. ROOF. Witnesses L. E. LUDIN, FRANCES A. HAGEMAN. 

